Mr Beer

Lamborn bill requires people protesting drilling pay $5,000

WASHINGTON — Tucked in a batch of land bills that all passed the U.S. House of Representatives before Thanksgiving is a proposal by GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn that would charge $5,000 for those seeking to protest oil and gas leases on public lands.

Simply titled the "Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act of 2013," the protest fee provision is stirring controversy among environmental groups and community activists.

Even the oil and gas industry admits it could have been worded better.

"Obviously, it's going nowhere in the Senate," said Kathleen Sgamma, vice president of the Western Energy Alliance. "But as this concept gets refined in the future, there could be ways of adding provisions to waive it in some cases."

Yet the legislation is beyond the concept stage and has already been sent to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

But the likelihood that the Democratic-controlled chamber will take it up — like most House-passed legislation — is small.

Sgamma's point is that an extremely high number of protests on federally issued leases on Bureau of Land Management land come from well-heeled environmental groups, like the Sierra Club, that could easily afford $5,000.

Also, she and Lamborn — who declined to grant an interview for this story — say that the money is for the BLM to recoup costs incurred while they wade through all the protests.

The congressman's argument doesn't assuage Jim Ramey.

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He is the solo staffer for an organization called Citizens for a Healthy Community in Paonia. Two years ago, Ramey, along with more than 100 community members, filed a formal protest on 30,000 acres of land that could have been leased near the North Fork Valley.

"All of the people who did that wouldn't have been able to if they were required a pay-to-play upfront fee," he said.

The BLM withdrew the sale before they ruled on the protest from Ramey's group, he said.

"You do the math and it quickly adds up to remarkable amounts of money that a small community organization like ours doesn't have the resources for," Ramey said.

Lamborn sent a statement that pointed to more than "10 opportunities in the process for people to have their voices heard."

Among Lamborn's largest campaign contributors: the oil and gas industry. The industry has donated $14,000 to him for his re-election bid next year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

"These formal protests require a direct BLM response, using staff time, energy, and resources to address what is, simply, often an organized delaying tactic," said Lamborn's statement. "This paperwork recovery fee will ensure that BLM has the resources necessary to address the protests, protect our environment, and carry out all the functions of the BLM mission."

The Interior Department, which operates the BLM, declined to comment.

"Lots of people don't have that kind of money," said David Alberswerth, a policy adviser at The Wilderness Society. "It's obviously intended as a barrier on the exercise of people's legitimate rights."